Gravity
by Laylania
Summary: Neither of their Clans seemed willing to let them be together. But somehow, she knew there would be a way. AU! Squirrelflight x Brambleclaw
1. Chapter 1

**Authoress notes: **AU, and inspired by watching the Lion King and Lion King 2 today. :D Plus the attitude of Firestar during the first book of the New Prophecy series strongly resembles Simba's attitude towards Kovu.

**Claim: **I own this idea and Jetpelt, who, for the sake of this story, is Brambleclaw's mother.

**Disclaim: **I don't own Warriors or Lion King.

**Note: **Don't point out things that don't fit with the original series, there's a reason this is **Alternate Universe.**

**Pairing: **Brambleclaw x Squirrelflight

**Chapter One**

Anxiety kept Firestar in motion as he paced back and forth in front of the nursery, having been forbidden from entering by Cinderpelt, the ThunderClan medicine cat. His mate, Sandstorm, was deep within the den, giving birth.

At long last, the soft gray head of Cinderpelt poked through the bracken that protected the den's entrance. "You can come in," she mewed to the anxious tom, and he pushed through, eyes landing upon his mate.

Sandstorm was laying on her side in a nest of soft moss, front paws curled underneath her. She looked to be fine, despite the exhaustion evident in her eyes. Once he was certain that the ginger queen was alright, his eyes slid to the form bundled against her belly.

It was a tiny she-cat with a darker pelt than her mother's, and she kneaded the queen's belly with small, soft paws. "Her name is Squirrelkit," mewed Sandstorm to a quiet Firestar.

The green eyed leader brushed his muzzle against the kit's soft fur before touching noses with Sandstorm, who purred in content.

**RawrFirestarisSimba**

Sliding out of the apprentices den with practiced ease, Squirrelpaw stretched and yawned before turning eager green eyes towards the entrance of the camp, ears flicking as she glanced around.

_Now's my chance!_ she thought, bounding towards the gorse tunnel. She was a few tail lengths away from freedom when a larger body leapt in front of her, blocking her way. Unable to stop, she collided with a set of paws, landing in a heap on the sandy ground.

Green eyes glimmered as they observed her. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Firestar," protested Squirrelpaw, though her father waited until she answered. "I just wanted to explore...you promised!"

"I know," Firestar relented, "But it's dangerous out there. You could get hurt or"

"Attacked," finished Squirrelpaw, exasperation evident in the smaller she-cat's actions as her eyes focused upon the ground. The scent of her mother entered her scent glands as the warrior approached them, sitting beside Firestar.

"Mind Firestar, Squirrelpaw," chimed Sandstorm, and Squirrelflight's tail curled as she mewed,

"Yes, Sandstorm." She turned to her father. "Can I go now? Please?"

Firestar hesitated and then gave a brisk nod. "And stay inside the territory!" he called after his departing daughter.

"You know that isn't the way to handle her," mewed Sandstorm. "Besides, she's just like you were when you were an apprentice."

"Exactly," sighed Firestar. "I can't believe the trouble I used to get into."

Sandstorm purred, pressing her flank against her mate's. "Don't worry, Squirrelpaw can take care of herself."

Firestar nodded, though he turned as the warrior she-cat departed, and he approached Cloudtail and Graystripe. "I need you guys to follow Squirrelpaw. Make sure she doesn't get into any trouble."

The pair nodded, setting off after the ginger apprentice.

**I'**

Breathless with laughter, Squirrelpaw leapt into the air, claws barely missing a butterfly as she dropped back down, paws pounding against the forest floor as she chased after her quarry. Losing track of it, the she-cat scrambled to a halt, unfamiliar scent entering her nose.

"ShadowClan," she whispered to herself, tail flicking. Her father had specifically stated not to go beyond the boarders of their Clan, though curiosity inticed her to step forward so that she was on the precipice of entering unfamiliar territory.

_Crack._

The dry snap of a twig underfoot made her turn, pelt bristling as her eyes locked with equally startled amber. Yowling in surprise, Squirrelpaw lost her footing on the fallen log and toppled, water droplets spraying everywhere.

"Squirrelpaw!" Graystripe was quick to follow the submerged apprentice, while Cloudtail rested upon the log.

"Great," he mewled, "how are we going to explain this to Firestar? Sorry, but your daughter drowned?"

The sound of gasping made him peer down at the two cats as they broke the surface, and the ThunderClan deputy dragged Squirrelpaw out of the moderately small pool of water. Shaking her pelt free of water droplets, Squirrelpaw's eyes narrowed upon the two toms.

"Firestar sent you, didn't he." It wasn't a question, the apprentice's tone flat. Graystripe avoided her gaze, while Cloudtail stared back, tail flicking.

"It was a good thing he did," the white warrior stated, "otherwise you would have drowned."

Squirrelpaw's ear flicked as she began licking her chest fu clean. "I'm not a kit, I can take care of myself."

"You're our leader's daughter," spoke Graystripe softly. "He just wants to keep you safe."

"From what?" hissed Squirrelpaw. "A rabbit? He won't let me do anything. Besides, I'm more than just his daughter."

"Anyway," spoke Cloudtail before the situation could escalate, "Let's find some food before we head back." The warrior leapt off the log and burst into the undergrowth, Graystripe following him swiftly.

Once the fronds of green had stopped rustling, Squirrelpaw crept away, bounding across the boarder and into ShadowClan territory. The ground was no different than that of ThunderClan's, though she found herself on edge, glancing around warily.

_I don't see what's so bad about this place,_ she thought. No sooner had those words entered her mind than a shape burst from the shadows, flying towards her. Whirling, Squirrelpaw's eyes locked with blazing amber.

"What are you doing in our territory?"

** One**

**Explanation for this setting: **Firestar is still the leader of ThunderClan. Brokenstar is no longer leader of ShadowClan. His "mate" Jetpelt is the leader now, and mother to Brambleclaw. Thunderclan and Shadowclan boarder each other. Leafpool isn't in this. Anymore questions?


	2. Chapter 2

**Authoress Notes: **Here's the second chapter~

**Chapter Two**

_"What are you doing in my territory?"_

Amber eyes blazed into Squirrelpaw's green ones with such ferocity that she shrank back a few pawsteps. Sweeping bright viridian irises across his pelt, she found that he wasn't much bigger than her, and more than likely an apprentice as well. That fact gave her strength and she straightened, pelt bristling.

"_Your_ territory?" she hissed, "Who are you? You're not much bigger than me!"

The tabby bared his teeth in a snarl as Squirrelpaw unsheathed her claws, digging them into the earth beneath her. She was ready to sink her claws into the tom's pelt, if only to get rid of the condescending look he was giving her as his chest puffed out in a haughty manner.

"I'm part of ShadowClan," he mewed, eyes narrowing in dislike as he continued, "And you're part of ThunderClan."

Squirrelpaw moved slowly, tail rigid as she kept narrowed green eyes locked upon her opponent, never wavering for a moment. He blinked. "What are you doing?"

"Firestar says to never turn your back on another cat." Her teeth bared, needle-sharp and just as dangerous as her claws that scraped up chunks of dirt and grass beneath her paws. The look of arrogance furthered in the tabby tom's eyes, the amber color striking against his dark coat as they glimmered with the same emotions of dislike and contempt that she was sure her own mirrored.

"And I suppose you do _everything_ your leader says to?" It was obvious that he, like his clanmates, didn't particularly care for the ThunderClan leader, and blood roared in her ears as anger and adrenaline surged in her veins, screaming at her to attack him. He gave his chest fur a few licks before he stated proudly, "I take care of myself."

Enemy or not, Squirrelpaw had to admit that she was impressed, her pelt lying flat against her body once more as her ears flicked in unhidden curiosity. "Really?"

The apprentice nodded, and out of curiosity, she followed him along the rows of trees that bordered the thin boundry of territories. Each pawstep he took was filled with confidence, and it was obvious that this apprentice felt he was ready to become a warrior.

They padded along side by side for quite some time, talking about anything from hunting to fighting skills and the annoyingly meanial tasks pushed onto them as apprentices. Squirrelpaw found herself easing up around the fellow apprentice, despite him being from another Clan. Why their Clans were at odds with each other was beyond her, as despite the scent of crow-food that clung to his pelt, the tabby was likeable.

_Crack._

The dry sound made Squirrelpaw pause, ears flicking back as she tried to pin-point the source of the noise. Her companion, noticing that she'd stopped, turned back to glance at her. "What is it?"

"Shh," she hissed, waving a paw at him to be quiet. HIs pelt bristled but he remained silent as Squirrelpaw opened her mouth to drink in the scents around her. There was the scent of mice and voles, and then another stronger, horrible scent that she'd never smelled before.

The rustling of the bracken beside them made her turn, eyes growing wide as a dark, wedge shaped head pushed through the fronds, dark eyes focusing upon the two apprentices.

"Badger!" yelped her companion. "Run!"

Squirrelpaw remained where she was, horrified and excited at the same time. She'd only heard stories of badgers before, and being so close to one was exhilerating. She yelped when teeth clamped on her ear and she chased after the tabby, hearing the heavy footfall of the badger behind them.

The tabby apprentice leapt into a low branch, though when Squirrelflight tried to follow, her claws missed the bark by a few mouse-tails. She stumbled as she hit the ground, shaking her head to clear it as she bounded off, badger intent on following her.

Fear gave her speed. The stories of badgers had not been pleasant ones, and she knew that those heavy paws could easily snap her spine or crush her head if given the chance. The worst was that the badger would do it out of malicious intent, not because it intended to eat her.

She scrambled in the direction of the tree that her friend had leapt into, and when she passed around again, he jumped down, eyes blazing. "I'll distract it! Go!"

She nodded breathlessly and took a running leap to another tree, paws scrabbling against the bark before she rested there, quivering. A few moments later, the ShadowClan apprentice followed, their flanks brushing as they rested there.

The badger snuffled around the base of the oak tree they were sitting in, murderous intent evident in the creature's beady black eyes before it lumbered off, and Squirrelpaw waited until she was sure that it was gone before she leapt down, waiting for her friend as they moved back towards the edge of the territories.

"That badger was _huge,_" she mewed, and her friend nodded in agreement, walking alongside her. Squirrelpaw paused once she was back on ThunderClan territory, turning to her companion. "You were really brave."

"You were pretty brave too," he mewed back, honesty shimmering in his eyes. "My name is Bramblepaw."

"I'm Squirrelpaw," she mewled, and she batted at his ear with a paw, claws sheathed. He stared at her blankly, and her ear flicked, tail twitching. "Don't you know how to play?"

Recognition shimmered in his eyes, and he crouched, preparing to pounce on her. Squirrepaw tensed, ready to counterattack when she found her vision blocked by a pair of legs, the pelt that covered them blazing like fire.

Her father barred her way, mouth open in a snarl as his tail lashed, ears flattened against his skull. Standing in front of Bramblepaw was a she-cat, her expression mirroring Firestar's. "Jetpelt," her father spat, green eyes narrowed.

"Firestar," hissed the black warrior before her voice became deceptively calm. "Have you met my kit Bramblepaw? It seems that your kit has." Squirrelpaw shuddered when icy blue eyes landed upon her, glinting with a hungry light.

"Leave," snarled Firestar as Squirrelpaw was pulled towards Sandstorm, her mother's tongue rasping over her ear, as if to make sure that she hadn't been injured.

"I'll be back," warned Jetpelt, eyes narrowing. "And ShadowClan will have the territory that's rightfully ours." She scooped Bramblepaw up, and Squirrelpaw looked at her friend in sorrow as she felt her father's teeth close around the scruff of her neck.

"Bye," she mumbled, and she heard a faint 'bye' in return as she was carried away towards the ThunderClan camp. When she looked back, neither Bramblepaw or his mother were anywhere in sight.

**- Lalalala -**

_"What in the name of StarClan were you thinking?"_

Squirrelpaw flinched back at her father's furious hiss, eyes locked upon the ground as angry green eyes blazed into her pelt, prompting her to speak. Her paws scuffled the ground in a nervous manner as she mewed, "I was just exploring."

"You know better than to go on another Clan's territory," spoke Firestar, and there was a moment of silence as he contemplated the ways to punish his daughter. "You aren't allowed to leave the camp without your mentor."

"But-"

"And," continued Firestar, cutting her protest off, "You have care for the elders for the next moon."

Squirrelpaw's eyes narrowed, pelt bristling. "That isn't fair!"

"It's a suitable punishment." was her father's icy response. "Go."

Head hanging, her tail dragged against the ground as she padded towards the apprentices den, blinking as she was intercepted by her mother.

"Firestar loves you," mewed Sandstorm as she brushed her muzzle against her daughter's.

"He doesn't act like it," mumbled Squirrelpaw, and Sandstorm's tail flicked her ear.

"He was just scared," answered Sandstorm. "We thought we had lost you."

Squirrelpaw allowed her mother's words to wash over her before she headed into the den, curling up on a bundle of soft moss. It wasn't fair. She'd found a friend, though she was now forbidden from seeing him, simply because they were from different Clans.

Green eyes narrowed, and she curled into a tight ball. _When I'm leader,_ she thought, _it'll be different._


End file.
